Purpose

This bill aims to increase funding for pupil transportation in Minnesota. It focuses on boosting the transportation sparsity revenue for independent school districts and clarifying the transportation funding for charter schools.

Main Provisions

• Amends Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 126C.10, subdivision 18a (Pupil transportation adjustment).
• For independent common or special school districts, the transportation sparsity revenue under subdivision 18 is increased by the greater of zero or a specified portion of the difference between certain cost benchmarks and a combined revenue benchmark. The calculation uses:
  • A cost benchmark: the lesser of either
  • the district’s total cost for regular and excess pupil transportation (including depreciation) for the previous fiscal year, or
  • 105 percent of the district’s total cost for the second previous fiscal year.
  • A revenue benchmark: the sum of the following for the previous fiscal year:
  • 4.66 percent of the district’s basic revenue
  • the district’s transportation sparsity revenue under subdivision 18
  • the district’s charter school transportation adjustment
  • the district’s reimbursement for transportation under another state provision (section 123B.92, subdivision 1, paragraph b, clause 1, item vi)
  • the district’s area learning center transportation aid
• Section 1 also clarifies that the charter schools’ pupil transportation adjustment equals the school district per-pupil-unit adjustment described in the preceding paragraph.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Recasts how the transportation sparsity revenue (a key component of funding for sparsely populated districts) is calculated, tying it to a more complex formula that uses multiple prior-year cost and revenue components.
• Links the charter school transportation adjustment to the district’s per-pupil-unit adjustment, aligning charter school transportation funding with district-level calculations.

Practical Implications

• Some independent districts may receive higher transportation funding if the new formula results in a positive adjustment.
• The bill introduces a broader, multi-factor approach to determining transportation funds rather than relying on a single cost measure.
• Charter school transportation funding is explicitly tied to district-level per-pupil adjustments, potentially affecting how charter schools’ transportation aid is calculated.

Relevant Terms - Pupil transportation adjustment - Transportation sparsity revenue - Independent school districts (common or special) - Charter schools transportation adjustment - Minnesota Statutes 126C.10, subdivision 18a - Regular and excess pupil transportation - Depreciation (in transportation costs) - Basic revenue - Area learning center transportation aid - Reimbursement for transportation (section 123B.92, etc.) - Per-pupil unit adjustment - Previous fiscal year; second previous fiscal year